Name: Derby Biscuits
Total time: 1 h
Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups (12½ ounces/354 grams) all-purpose flour; 1 tablespoon sugar; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1 teaspoon Salt; 8 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled; 1 cup whole milk , chilled

Why This Recipe Works

Recipes for beaten biscuits date back to a time before leaveners such as baking powder and baking soda were commercially available and call for the baker to beat the dough to both trap air and develop gluten. Modern recipes for these biscuits are much less of a cardiovascular workout, relying on a stand mixer or food processor to make the dough. In addition, to achieve the flaky texture of a biscuit combined with the crunch of a cracker, we embrace modernity and use a small amount of baking powder: only 2 teaspoons for 2½ cups of flour. Pulsing in 8 tablespoons of cold butter in the food processor keeps the biscuits pleasantly tender without getting too crumbly. Just a little sugar enhances their flavor and makes their exteriors of our biscuits nicely crisp. In addition, the bite-size shape of our “Derby” biscuits makes them perfectly suited to splitting open and layering with country ham, beer cheese, and red pepper jelly.

Before You Begin

Split a biscuit and fill it with country ham, beer cheese, or hot pepper jelly.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Pulse flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in food processor until combined, about 3 pulses. Add butter and pulse until reduced to pea-size pieces, 10 to 12 pulses.

Transfer mixture to large bowl. Add milk and stir with rubber spatula until shaggy dough forms. Turn out dough onto heavily floured counter and knead until dough comes together fully and feels smooth, with few small butter flecks still visible, 8 to 10 turns.

Roll dough into 11-inch circle about ½ inch thick. Using 2-inch biscuit cutter dipped in flour, cut 22 to 23 rounds from dough. Reroll scraps once to similar thickness and cut out 5 to 6 more rounds to yield 28 biscuits. Space biscuits evenly on prepared baking sheet (7 rows of 4). Prick each biscuit 3 times with tines of fork.

Bake until tops are light golden brown, 27 to 30 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let biscuits cool on sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.